We've got some new home owners and they're going to be moving in soon. We thought it would be a kick to introduce some of them to the rest of the growing Vantage Pointe community -- both owners and renters. We're starting with David Yamaguchi and his Jack Russell terrier Bryan.
David has been around the world, thanks to his service in the Navy. The licensed vocational nurse, or LVN, has spent time in Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Malta, Greece, and Bahrain, while on ships like the U.S.S. Kearsarge.
But, now he's stationed in San Diego -- he's only been here since May -- and working at the Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park. And, with this new job he wanted a home that had an urban feel, a place accessible to public transportation, and where walking could be the norm, not something unusual.
He chose to live in Vantage Pointe. He says he got a great deal for his two-bedroom, one-bath condo, especially compared to what he'd have to pay to live in other urban downtowns in the U.S. Plus, "This is a great location," he says. "I wanted to live in the northeast part of downtown. I figured it would be away from the noise at Petco Park and the Gaslamp, but still close to everything. It's urban without the nightclubs, yet it's also residential since we're so close to Cortez Hill."
David's used to urban living. He bought a row house in Washington, D.C., in 2003, and loved the lifestyle it gave him, but then he was reassigned to Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 2006, where he bought a house that he's currently renting out. After all his travels, he got hooked on a living style that resembled what he saw in Europe and experienced in the Northeast, another reason he says he picked Vantage Pointe.
"I can take walk to work and back, come home and use the gym on the third floor, then go jogging with my dog in Balboa Park," he notes.
In fact, David, who is 36, is taken with the various amenities he found at Vantage Pointe, like the gym, but also the game room, where he's thinking of having a house-warming party, and the TV room, where he's anticipating showing documentaries to guests. He's also hoping that life on the balcony might lead to some new friendships, similar to sitting on the stoop in his former row house in D.C. And, there's the 10th-floor pool deck, where he can get a little sun and take in the panoramic views of the downtown skyline and the Bay.
What about Bryan, his pooch? David's convinced Bryan's going to enjoy life at Vantage Pointe, too. Not only is it dog friendly, but it's walking distance to Nate's Point, the dog park just off Sixth Ave. in Balboa Park.
"This is going to be a great place for both of us," he says. "It's really Northeastern style living without the bad weather!"
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